Footsteps of WWII · The Netherlands
Airborne Museum Hartenstein, Oosterbeek
Museum · 17–26 Sep 1944
The story
Villa Hartenstein, a hotel since 1942, became the headquarters of Major-General Roy Urquhart's British 1st Airborne Division in September 1944. From 21 September it stood at the centre of the Oosterbeek perimeter, about three miles round, held by some 3,600 men under constant shelling. Polish paratroopers dropped near Driel on 21 September but few could cross the Rhine. On the night of 25/26 September (Operation Berlin) about 2,400 men were ferried back across the river. The division lost nearly three-quarters of its strength. Urquhart himself opened the museum in the restored villa on 11 May 1978.
What to look for
The white villa, scarred and restored, with a British 17-pounder anti-tank gun on the lawn. Inside are weapons, uniforms and personal stories of British, Polish and German soldiers and civilians. Below ground the 'Airborne Experience' takes you through a glider fuselage and into reconstructed street fighting.
Plan your visit
Open daily 10:00–17:00. Adults €16, children 8–17 €11; Museumkaart valid. Tickets online only (no phone booking). Bus or a 15-minute walk from Oosterbeek station; parking nearby.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Old Church and Kate ter Horst house, Oosterbeek · 1 km
- Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery · 1 km
- John Frost Bridge, Arnhem · 6 km
- Ginkel Heath drop zone, Ede · 9 km
- Waal crossing memorial (De Oversteek), Nijmegen · 14 km
- Grebbeberg battlefield and military cemetery · 16 km
All 160 sites in Footsteps of WWII →
Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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